EMA, in collaboration with European healthcare professional and consumer organisations, has launched a new awareness campaign on medicine shortages. The #ItTakesATeam campaign highlights the shared efforts to prevent and manage shortages across the EU, and the role of each actor in supporting patients faced with these shortages.
When patients can’t get a medicine in a pharmacy, their first reaction is distress. While this is legitimate, they are never alone. There are people who are there to help, from the pharmacist who can source a particular medicine, to doctors who can find alternative treatments, all the way up to regulators managing stock distribution amongst EU countries. There’s a whole team working to find solutions.
The campaign was developed jointly with the European Consumer Organisation, the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists, European Association of Nuclear Medicine, the European Paediatric Neurology Society , the European Community Pharmacists and the European Union of General Practitioners, and supported by EMA’s Patients and Consumers Working Party and Healthcare Professionals Working Party.
The campaign aims to showcase the coordinated system that is needed at EU level to address shortages, but it also represents a step forward in how we engage with healthcare professionals and patients. Building on our longstanding collaboration with these groups, this is the first time they have co-created a communication campaign as our trusted partners, involved in every stage of the campaign’s development. It is no coincidence that this has come about around the issue of managing medicine shortages where effective solutions depend on trust, transparency and close cooperation.
Through videos, social media messages, and stories from real people involved in addressing shortages, #ItTakesATeam puts a human face on the coordinated efforts to keep medicines available for those who need them most. In addition, on 4 November, a public webinar will take place for patients, consumers and healthcare professionals to learn more about the EU regulatory process, where to find information and how they can help prevent and manage shortages. Follow the webinar live on the event page: Medicine shortages: EMA public webinar putting patients first.
Medicine shortages are challenging for the entire health system. They don’t have a single cause and are often the result of a complex network involving manufacturing, supply, and distribution across many countries. When one part of the chain is affected, it can impact medicine availability.
For more information on how the EU and its partners are tackling medicine shortages, visit Fighting medicine shortages: It takes a team.